Sunday, February 10

Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks? Either Goes with Homemade Doughboys

Long before Starbucks, long before McDonald's began serving Starbucks-like lattes, there was Dunkin' Donuts.

Dunkin' Donuts is the epitome of the Northeast -- not fancy, just fast and reliable. I can remember on frigid, gray winter days, your eyes would tear and your nose would run from the biting wind while you waited in the line that snaked out the door.

You didn't mind, though, because the girls behind the counter worked with lightening speed. By the time you made it to the register, you were ready to bark out your order: "Yeah, gimme a dozen donuts. Mixed. And I'll take tree cauffees, two wit cream and shugah, and one black." Five seconds later your order was ready.

I was thinking about Dunkin' Donuts this past Wednesday while I was in line at the La Jolla Boulevard Starbucks. A woman in front of me, who was wearing enormous Chanel sunglasses, tried to place an order:

"Um, I'll have a skinny double mocha latte. And I'll have. Umm. Let's see. Are there nuts in the low-fat blueberry muffins? OK. Ummmmm. Does the cranberry bread have flaxseed in it?"

I thought to myself, "Dear God, if she were in the Branch Avenue Dunkin' Donuts right now (where I have stopped a thousand times in my life), the people in line would have physically carried her out the door and left her in the freezing parking lot still holding her debit card.

Branch Avenue Dunkin' Donuts, Providence, RI

I told Jeff the story when he got home, and we started reminiscing about Dunkin' Donuts, gray New England winters, and how many years have passed since we had a donut. Since I couldn't run out to Dunkin' Donuts to get Jeff a jelly stick (they don't exist in San Diego), and didn't really want to make donuts, I did what my mom would do: I made doughboys.

Jeff and I haven't eaten or made doughboys in over 10 years. So when I announced to him that I was making them this past Saturday, he said, “I don't believe it.” “No, really, I am. It’s for a blog event featuring fried sweets,” I said. “I still don't believe it."

It wasn't until I poured the oil in the pan that it sunk in: "Oh, my god, you really are making doughboys," he said.

As I was forming the doughboys, I pulled a hole in the middle of each one. Jeff looked at me, confused. “What are you doin’?” “I’m making the doughboys, hon.” “But why are you making holes in them?” he asked. “Cause my mother always made hole in them,” I said. “Well, my mother never put holes in them. Looks like we got ourselves a doughboy domestic here,” he said.

Imagine, almost 13 years of marriage, and I never knew he liked his doughboys without holes in the middle. So we did what any successfully married couple would do: we made both. Now you decide how you want to make yours.

I'm sending my doughboys to talented bakers Peabody and Helen who are hosting an event called (a la Dunkin' Donuts) Time to Make the Donuts! That's right, they want your sweet, fried treats by Feb. 12th and will post a round-up on the 15th; so hurry!

Lightly roll out a room-temperature pound of pizza dough, just enough to smooth it out and make it easier to work with. Don't over-roll or overwork it, or the doughboys won't puff up nicely. Using your hands, form 8-10 doughboys, with or without holes. Don't worry if they're not exactly the same-- they're not meant to be perfectly shaped or uniform in size.

Use canola or peanut oil since they have a high smoke point. Pour oil, about 2 inches deep, into a deep, wide pan over medium heat (or to 350 degrees if you have a deep-fry thermometer). Otherwise, test the heat by dropping a little piece of dough into the oil. It should quickly bounce to the surface and be surrounded by tiny bubbles. Add 1-2 doughboys at a time, making sure they have room to float in the oil. Using tongs, gently flip doughboys in the oil until they puff up, float, and turn golden brown, about 30-60 seconds.

For toppings, either sprinkle with powdered sugar or with a mixture of granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. And make sure to eat 'em while they're hot!

Dissolve in 2 cups of warm water yeast, sugar, and salt. Using a spoon, gently blend. Add 5 cups of all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to start. Blend just a little bit with a spoon; then, using your hands, transfer to a floured surface.

Knead well—adding flour if it’s too sticky—until the dough becomes springy and smooth. It should take a good 5-10 minutes of vigorous kneading. It will be soft and silky when done.

Place the dough in a large, clean bowl coated with olive oil or cooking spray, and rub some olive oil on top of the dough. Cover with a clean, dry dishtowel and let rise until doubled in size (at least 2 hours). Once it’s risen, punch it down.

Leftover dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Coat the inside of a Ziploc bag with some Pam and drop the dough in; that way it doesn’t stick to the plastic. Allow to come to room temperature before rolling out.

Tips for making good doughboys:

*Use the freshest dough possible for lighter, puffier doughboys.
*Make sure the dough is room temperature, not cold.
*Don't overwork the dough when forming the doughboys, or they won't be as light and airy.
*Use an oil with a high heat point, like canola or peanut.
*Don't over-fry the doughboys or they'll quickly become too brown and hard.

There's an old saying about New York and California: "You should leave California before you get too soft and you should leave New York before you get too hard." Now I know you're not from New York, but the north east attitude is what I'm talking about here. And you still have it. :-)

I wonder how many quarts of hot oil Peabody and Helen are responsible for?

oh my goodness! i too am originally from the East Coast and now live in San Diego. I frequently crave Dunkin Donuts!! My favorite thing is how they measured out the cream and sugar themselves,..you never did it!! I wish they had one out here!!!

I haven't been to a dunkin donut, I love starbucks for my coffee and krispy kreme for the doughnuts :).. But I can't stand those people who can't make up their mind at the counter even after the five minutes wait in the line! I am laughing at the visual of the people carrying the chanel gal out the door :D

Hilarious post! I love Dunkin Donuts too, but I'm a Krispy Kreme girl at heart! I could scarf down a whole dozen of those little critters in one sitting! Those doughboys look pretty good too! I'll be making my first attempt at doughnuts tomorrow. Yikes! If you never hear from me again, you'll know what happened.;)

Susan--Your wonderful post has me wistful for the California Donut Co. in St. Louis. When I was a kid and we went to visit old family friends, at some point, the two dads would run out and return with a couple dozen doughnuts. Later, Marion and I would take our girls there on Saturday morning before starting out on a flea market day trip.

I believe that New England has a higher concentration of donut shops than any other part of the country. This is based on working for a company that had offices in Providence and North Attleboro, and whenever I visited the area and needed directions to somewhere the directions inevitably included a turn at an intersection with a Dunkin' Donuts. It was never a good landmark because every intersection seemed to have a Dunkin' Donuts.

Oh how I live for doughnuts. I seriously cannot resist them. You can't get Krispy Kremes here but there's a shop next to the Maui airport so you often see Alaskans sporting boxes of KKs to take back with them after vacation. :)

God, how I loved Dunkin Donuts when I was younger - munchkins were the de riguer birthday treat to bring into class, and those jelly ones were *prized*. That Time To Make the Donuts commercial lives in my memory alongside the Calgon Take Me Away and Momma Mia That's a Spicy Meatball lines, forever throwing me back to staying home sick and watching The Price is Right. :)

I know that La Jolla Starbucks. I'm surprised there's still a La Jollan who doesn't know their 'Bucks order like the back of their hand. "Double shot no-whip non-fat mocha with extra vanilla, please."

Those doughboys look divine. There is nothing so tempting to me as a donut. I'm actually thankful Dunkin' Donuts hasn't set up shop in Minnesota yet (and Krispy Kreme has mostly shut down here) because if I had a donut shop on every corner during a mid-winter carb craving? I would never be allowed in a swimsuit again.

(P.S. I made your Coconut Lemon Tea Cake last week, only I used Meyer lemons my parents brought me from their San Jose backyard. It was amazing!)

You know, there used to be a DD in the Kearny Mesa area until the mid-90's. I used to go there until it turned into the ubiquitous Chinese Food/Do-nuts that populate the southland. I vacationed in Vermont last year, and actually had trouble finding the Dunkin' Donut, you know, the one with the handle? A lot of the shops didn't have them to go with my Coffee regular. (No one knows what that means out here ;()

Ooooo, those look so good! I've never really gotten into DD, but where I'm from Krispy Kreme is king. I went to NYC on business a few years ago, and when I got off the train and went up to street level, low and behold there was a KK right in Penn Station! I couldn't help myself...I got two plain glazed that day.

i gonna guess THAT lady was from here in seattle! i just made soem fried dough too, beignets, but i cheated and made them from a cafe du monde mix. they were still heavenly with my 'coffee regular'! speaking of which, i was so totally amazed when we have gone back east (to chicago and new york) and i order coffee, and it is perfect with the cream and sugar already added!

anne-marie-OMG, I think we're long lost sisters! I had all of the same experiences, except for the Mamma Mia one-- I don't recognize that.

judy-I don't know Tim Horton's. Next time I'm in Canada, I'll have to remember that.

happy cook-I know, sometimes you don't want to lessen the experience when you love something so much.

pip-Ooh, fried pizza? Looks like I'll be trying that too.

anali-I'm telling ya, East Coasters would not have the patience out here. It's taken my years!

deborah-Oh, thank you!

chinook-I know. It seems most families had Sunday traditions with buying the donuts. My husband's grandfather bought them every Sunday for his entire life. We often reminisce about that as well. Thanks for your visit and thoughtful comment.

kelly-Sounds like your neck of the woods needs some donut shops! Ever consider buying a DD franchise? ;) I'm so happy you made the cake. It's wonderful with Meyer lemons too; I know because I made a second one!

dana-Oh, thanks!

ivy-Yeah, my grandmother and mom would make them with the leftover pizza dough.

nod-No more old fashioned? That was always my favorite. I would get one for me and a French crueller for my grandmother, then she'd take the little dunk part off of mine for her coffee. And yes, what's with the chinese/donut places? We have often wondered.

andrea-KK is in Penn Station? Does DD know about that? ;)

cinderelly-Fixing the sugar and cream for you is such a treat, isn't it? Beignets, mmmmmmm good.

WOW! I have been in that Branch Ave Dunkin about 100 times, too. My old gym (World Gym, but my friends and I called it Third World Gym) was right across the street. One exit away from my work exit on 146.

The best part was the absolute broad spectrum of demographcs at Dunkin: Guys in $1500 suits on their way downtown to Fleet (now gone), plumbers, college students, high school kids, beatnicks, RISD goths. It was always a good reminder that we are all the same--we all got that Dunkin Jones under our variously tattoed (or not) skin!

brilynn-It's issues like this one that rank up their with politics and religion. ;)

emiline-It's gonna be one seriously delicious round-up.

us vs food-Whoops! Better get cracking, or should I say fryin'? ;)I'm with you on the old-fashioned. An oldie but goodie.

bellini valli-I love trips down nostalgia lane.

kelly-Biscuits with a hole in them? Smart woman. ;)

anonymous-OMG, I used to go to that gym many moons ago. You're so right about the mix of people at that DD. I guess donuts are the great equalizer. Thanks for stopping by -- I really enjoyed your comment.

pixie-My pleasure. I will check out your family's savory pies. Those are always the best recipes.

Susan, I've tagged you for your choice of two memes...check out my blog...hope you'll play.Not sure if the one with the hole or the doughboy without the hole would be better...guess the best bet is to do as you did and make both.

I too grew up in RI (and have since lived in NYC, LA, and now Nashville)- I know exactly where that Branch Ave. DD is at!! We only have a couple of DD scattered about Nashville and I've been known to drive 15 miles just to get an iced coffee.

And doughboys, oh my (far superior to its cousin, the funnel cake, by the way) Seeing this post has conjured up so many great memories from my childhood.

I read your blog on D & D and it was so funny to see BRANCH AV D&D. I live only a few miles from there.

If you like your mothers doughboys, next time, you may want to try my mothers doughboys...she stuffed her's with a slice of american cheese. YUMMY! I would suggest on NOT making a hole if you do this, the cheese will oose out. Just spread out your dough, place the cheese down and fold over the dough. I secure mine with the good old fork marks. Try it, they are delicious.April, Johnston, RI

So, I know you posted this a while back, but I just felt like telling you that I made these for at a Halloween party last night and they were a great hit! I made them with the cinnamon sugar, but I also tried Alton Brown's recipe for a glaze and they were both really tasty! In Japan, we can only find doughnuts made with cake flour, and while good, they cannot compare with yeast doughnuts. Thank you so much for sharing such a delicious recipe!

My dad was so sad when he came here to SD to visit and there wasn't a Dunkin' Donuts here, we thought maybe there was, somewhere. My mom wanted him to bring back a dozen for her, since they missed it. These doughboys remind me of when I was little, my dad and his scouts would have a doughboy booth at the Ferndale county fair, no idea what their recipe was though. Mmmmm!

Definitely DD Starbucks is more for the Liberal yuppy crowd who simply thinks it tastes better due to it's high price point. Sorry to ruin your day but Wifi access a good coffee does not make. If your truly into darker Blends Equal exchange makes a far superior blend anyways.

Susan- Love that you read my blog! I've been following you for awhile and enjoy your posts. I am not quite a native Rhode Islander... lived here 10 years, took a 7 year trip to Florida then returned. Less than two years later my husband and I had to get out! :) We're in DC now but make trips back home to visit fam. I'm here on a job assignment for the summer so I'm soaking up some quality New England time. Ironically, my life long RI friend made me doughboys for breakfast the other day. She slathers hers with butter and jam... delish!A fun post re: Dunkin vs. Starbucks that will absolutely have you laughing: http://therivervisual.blogspot.com/2010/05/java-wars.html